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Emi Hattori
Background Emi Hattori is the adopted daughter of Takezo Hattori and his partner Ebisu Matsunaga. Ebisu, son of a wealthy Japanese business owner and his wife, was exiled to the United States in his early 20's by his parents after a scandal nearly broke out that would have cast unfavourable light on his very traditional family. After several years in America he moved to Spokane, Washington where he met Takezo, a second generation Japanese-American with strong connections to his family back in Japan. The two began a relationship, and after several years began the process of adoption. With the help of a very savvy lawyer, who was also a good friend to the two of them, they eventually managed to adopt a baby girl, whom they named "Emi," which is Japanese for 'beautiful blessing,' as an honour to the family that neither of them had ever believed they would have. As she grew, Takezo and Ebisu broached the subject of her adoption at a very early age, believing that it would be best to discuss it with her before she was approached by school children or other adults who might look down on her or otherwise try to harm her by pointing out how different she looked from her family or her fathers relationship at inappropriate times. Because of this, Emi has known almost her entire life that she is adopted, but in spite of this has never thought of Takezo and Ebisu as anything but her natural parents. A few years after the adoption, Takezo's parents flew in from Japan, where they had returned in their early fifties, to visit their 'granddaughter,' whom they both instantly fell in love with. The elder Hattori's make an effort to visit their sons and granddaughter once a year. Ebisu reached out to his own parents, but never received a response. Early Life and Upbringing Takezo and Ebisu wanted to impart their love of their home culture to their daughter, who they saw as a child who could eventually grow into a sort of cultural bridge between their culture and the American culture. Ebisu, who in Japan had been a champion in the martial art of kyudo, or the archery of the Japanese Samurai, began teaching Emi at a very young age, much younger than was socially acceptable in Japan. Takezo, more of an artist than his partner, taught his daughter the art of calligraphy and the tea ceremony. Emi is an exceptional archer and an accomplished calligrapher as a result, and has studied both kendo and iaido on her own with an elderly Japanese swordmaster in her hometown. She is also very knowledgeable about Japanese culture, something she is very fond of, though she doesn't play video games or participate in watching/reading anime/manga. Due to her somewhat peculiar upbringing, Emi was something of a tomboy as a child, making friends easier with the boys, who she could rough house with. While Takezo and Ebisu had bought her dolls and stuffed animals as a child, she had only ever made a special attachment to one stuffed rabbit, naming it 'Keiko,' otherwise preferring exploring outdoors and play-fighting to playing with dolls. As she entered her teens however, she began making more and more female friends, and has as a result become a little more "girly." Because of her mostly unique upbringing, Emi speaks fluent Japanese, but knowing it unlikely the family would ever move back to Japan, Emi was also taught English. As a result, Emi can switch effortlessly between the two, favouring Japanese at home with her parents but English with her friends and the outside world. She frequently Skypes with her grandparents in Japan, who speak very little English. She has visited them in Japan several times, and plans to make more trips in the future. Emi was proud to stand with her grandparents in the Seattle City Hall on December 9, 2012 as her parents were among the first same-sex couples to be legally married in the state of Washington. Schooling and Present Wanting only the best for their daughter, and believing that Private Schooling would both give her the best opportunities as well as provide a more accepting and understanding atmosphere for her to develop in, Emi has attended private schooling for most of her life. She is above average in terms of marks, though she doesn't work as hard as many of her contemporaries. Her parents do hold her to a certain grade average, which she must achieve in order to continue practising her extra-curriculars as well as earn her modest weekly allowance. However, understanding the culture of private schools far more than her parents, Emi does not make the nature of her parents status known to anyone at her schools for fear of discrimination. It was an incident at her previous school at the end of 2013 that caused Emi to ask her parents to enroll her at the Wilfred Gammon Institute. While at the school, another girl in the class above Emi had learned of her parents status, forming a small group of girls who began to taunt Emi at school. Ignoring them for several weeks, and unwilling to go to the faculty for fear of reprisal, things came to a head in the last week of school, when the leader of the group of girls cornered Emi and used homophobic and insulting terms against her parents. Emi punched the girl in the face, breaking her nose. Legal troubles were avoided by Emi formally leaving the school to attend another institution. She has spent the summer between her fight and the first day of school at Wilfred Gammon focusing mainly on her archery, also spending two weeks in Odaiba, Japan with her grandparents. Miscellany and Favourites Emi has a deep fondness for animals, especially rabbits. Emi is a good singer, but is too shy to sing for anyone. Emi has a tattoo of her family crests on her right side. Emi has an intense fear of ghosts due to a still unexplained event from her childhood. Emi has never had a romantic relationship, due to her being extraordinarily awkward around boys she likes. When flustered, Emi has a habit of speaking incredibly quickly in Japanese. Category:Rangers